A Dead Good Read
by Darkness Eclipsed
Summary: What if you worked in a library? What if the library used to be a house? What if a ghost still lived there? Read and find out...
1. Prologue

Working at a library isn't always that interesting.  
  
This, on the most part, was a true statement for eighteen-year-old Toki Masago. People didn't use the library so much any more, what with the Internet and all, and she often found herself fighting to stay awake at the reference desk.   
  
The poor girl longed for some excitement in her life; anything that would liven up her day. She sat around playing solitaire on the computer, working on homework or generally being bored.   
  
Pretty, shy Toki was no moron. She had a head crammed full of knowledge she never got to share. Her favorite topic was local history, especially that of the library, which had once been a house. All she longed for was some one to enlighten, some one with home she could share her vast knowledge. People told her it would be a shame to let it all go to waste.  
  
But wasted it was, for no one cared much for Urban Legends. No one ever asked her anything, except maybe where the bathroom was or if they could use the computer.  
  
No one, that is, until a young man walked up to the desk and asked her to see the local history books.   
  
She, knowing right where they were (having memorized the Dewey Decimal System some time ago) showed him the section. He seemed disappointed to see how few books there were and that none of them contained death records. But he did find one that would be helpful and thus applied for a library card.  
  
Toki sat at the desk, a bored expression on her face as she typed the info on his form into the computer; muttering the info aloud to herself. "Name...Yoh Asakura..." She mumbled, her fingers flying across the keys. She sighed. What a boring day.  
  
Little did she know, her life was about to get very interesting.  
  
Very interesting indeed.  
  
  



	2. The Missing Page

Author's Note: I'm writing this from reading Shaman King in Shonen Jump. If anything is weird, it's cuz I've never seen the anime or read the manga anywhere else, just what's in SJ, and I'm basing it on that.  
  
Oh, and I just wanted to let you know that Toki's full name (Toki Masago) means "hopeful sands of time."  
  
~~  
  
"This book is missing a page!"  
  
Toki jumped in her seat, startled as a book was slammed down on the desk before her. She looked up. There was the boy who only the day before had registered for a library card. He was average height, skinny, with dark hair pushed out of his face by a pair of headphones. Her first impression of him was that he was some sort of neo-hippie, what with his longish hair, baggy pants and sandals.   
  
"There's a page missing!" He repeated angrily, "What happened to it?"  
  
She frowned. According to his registration form, he was around thirteen. She was five years his senior and there he was, demanding things of her. "Look," She replied crossly, "I don't know. I doubt that book's been check out at all in the time I've been alive." She flipped the cover open, "And there's no stamp here saying that the book is damaged. How do I know you didn't rip it out?"  
  
"Lady, I checked this book out because it was the only one that had anything remotely helpful in it. I was reading about this house and how there was a fire in the basement, but I don't know what happened since the rest of it's just not there!" He argued.  
  
Her brown eyes lit up. "You want to know about the house?" She asked quickly.  
  
"Yes! I'm trying to learn as much local history as possible. I need to know what's haunted around here. You know, if there's any ghosts or whatnot."  
  
"Haunted? You think this place is haunted?" Toki blinked.  
  
"I never said that. I'm trying to find out if it is." He grinned.  
  
"I think it is. I swear I've seen things in the attic..."  
  
He gave her a skeptical look, one eyebrow raised. "Really?"   
  
She nodded. "So, you're looking to learn about the house?" She was intrigued. No thirteen-year-old cared about stuff like that. Why could he possibly care? "I can help you out with that."  
  
"You can?"  
  
"Sure. History is my favorite thing to learn. I'm Toki." She offered him her hand, "Toki Masago."  
  
"Well, I suppose you already know my name, since you did do my registration. But, oh well." He shook her hand, "I'm Yoh Asakura."  
  
His handshake was warm and friendly. Toki grinned. Maybe if he came around looking for more information, she'd have some one to talk to, even though he was younger than her. At that point, she was desperate for any human contact while at work.   
  
"So, you read the story about the fire?"  
  
"Yeah. Do you know what happened?"  
  
"Well, that was back in 1897. The guy who owned the place was some rich old guy who had a few kids and they actually lived here then. It wasn't a library till the fifties. I guess the boiler overheated and exploded and the basement caught fire. A lot of the house got destroyed and needed to be completely renovated."  
  
"Did any one die in the fire? There's a family tree in that book, and one of the girls who lived here died when she was twelve. It doesn't say how."   
  
"I don't know..." She blinked. Why was he so interested in ghosts and dead people? Who was this kid?  
  
"Oh." He sounded disappointed, "Is there any way we can find out?"  
  
"We-ell...The director might. She taught me everything I know."   
  
"Can I talk to her?"  
  
"She's not here on weekdays. Only Saturdays."  
  
"Oh." He looked even more disappointed. "Damn. I really need to know."  
  
"I'm sorry, Yoh."  
  
He sighed. "I guess I'll have to come back on Saturday." A dejected look crossed his face.  
  
"Can I ask you something? Why do you want to know all this?" Her curiosity had gotten the best of her. She had to know what he was getting at, implying that the place was haunted.  
  
Yoh peered into Toki's eyes, a peculiar look on his face. She looked taken aback by his change in expression. He looked at her a moment longer, taking in her dark eyes, slightly reddish hair. A tee-shirt bearing the logo for a rock band hung loosely off her. A small silver cross dangled around her neck. She was a pretty girl, in a very plain sort of way. He wasn't sure what to tell her, but if she had seen a ghost lurking around, it meant she was an okay person.  
  
"I'll tell ya a secret, only because you think the place is haunted and that means I can trust you," He paused, "I hope."  
  
She looked at him seriously. "I don't spread secrets."  
  
"All right." Another dramatic pause, "I'm looking for a new partner."  
  
"Partner?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm a Shaman."  
  
~~  
...To be continued...  



End file.
